Iraqi TV host Ahmed Mulla Talal unmasked Iran's future ambitions in the region and highlighted the danger this poses to Baghdad's sovereignty, especially regarding the growing influence of the al-Hashd al-Shaabi militia coalition. Speaking on his program, called ‘To The Letter’ on al-Sharqiyah TV, Talal said that while al-Hashd might claim to respect the state, they were ultimately an ideological group with their own agenda.

“The mentality of al-Hashd is sect over state,” Talal said. He quoted Abu Ala’ al-Wala’i "ابو الاء الولائي", secretary general of Sayyid al-Shuhada Battalions, to back up his assertion. Sayyid al-Shuhada Battalions are a Shia militia and part of al-Hashd al-Shaabi, which is in turn a coalition of predominately Shia militias who fight on behalf of the government in Baghdad. Speaking from Aleppo, northwest Syria, where his group are fighting, Talal quoted al-Wala’i as saying: “We support respect for the Iraqi state’s sovereignty, and abiding by its constitution and the decisions of its government.”

​“But at the same time,” the militia commander continued, “we support respect of Sharia and religious commands, which we believe is more important than any other commitment.”

“We have given Syria long columns of martyrs, and we are prepared to offer more,” al-Wala’i continued.“After Syria, we will not stop,” he said. “We will go to the further than the borders of the Arab world so long as our presence is needed there.”

​​Talal said that Qassem Soleimani has already chosen his next targets: Afghanistan and Pakistan. Soleimani is the leader of the Quds Force, the elite branch of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), which is charged with protecting the Iranian revolution at home and abroad.

This fits into what al-Wala’i said, and as Talal pointed out in his segment: “Just as the Hashd fighters fought Jabhat al-Nusra (al-Qaeda in Syria) and Jaysh al-Sham in Aleppo and Raqqa (both in Syria), what will prevent them from fighting al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan?”

Qassem Soleimani has already chosen his next targets, Afghanistan and Pakistan

“The case is clearly one of defending their sect,” Talal said of al-Hashd, “and this does not need a license, not from Abadi and not from the Iraqi state.”

Talal said that because the central command of al-Hashd is in Iran and Najaf (Shia Islam’s most important city in central Iraq), “it is not necessary (for al-Hashd) to pledge allegiance to the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces (Abadi).”

​Talal claims al-Hashd met late last year in Iran with IRGC leaders and Soleimani where they discussed, among other things, the upcoming 2018 general elections.

​Suleimani said the militias had to enter the elections on one electoral list, so as to strike as one force and become a majority, according to the Iraqi TV host.

“There is a strong possibility that after two years, the Hashd won’t need anyone to legitimise it, because he will become the legislator (and legitimator),” Talal warned.

“It gets worse,” he said, “because all that we have said goes against what Abadi has said: that the Hashd obey his commands.”Talal ended his segment with a simple but crucial question: How can al-Hashd claim loyalty to Abadi in Baghdad when they are taking orders from Soleimani in Tehran?